SANTIAGO, Chile, Oct.19, CMC – The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) wants regional countries to invest 6.2 per cent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to satisfy infrastructure demands for the period 2012-2020.

According to new estimates in a report - “Economic Infrastructure Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean Database 1980-2012”, the figure of 6.2 per cent of GDP comes from applying the “investment trajectory to expected infrastructure needs”.

The report assumes that the historic pattern of country investments will be repeated. “As such, it is an approximation and not a strict recommendation,” the document indicates.

The report says the average 2.7 per cent of GDP allotted to infrastructure investment in the last decade shows that the region is not investing enough.

The study also says an adequate response to requirements in this field is key for the region's insertion in the global economy in the 21st century and for its people’s quality of life.

ECLAC notes that investment in infrastructure projects contributes to increasing the coverage and quality of public services (for example, health, education and recreation) and reduces the costs associated with mobility and logistics, which, in turn, improves access to markets of goods, services, employment and financing, providing a favorable environment for improvements in the population's overall well-being.

ECLAC has urged the region to examine the patterns in their investment decisions to orient them towards new infrastructures that reinforce the path to equality, with sustainability and inclusion.

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